Are you up for an STN International (Dolomites, Alps, Pyrenees, or UK)

[Mr Sunshine]

If we can get a rough idea of numbers then we can give that hotel a ring and get some rooms reserved. I dare say that a place like that will book up fast in the summer

I say call them and let them know 6 people are coming.  

2 for me
2 for dm_gsxr
1 for you and
1 for Orson  (you damn well better come!   )

[Mr Sunshine]

Perhaps we should make a new post that basically says "ST.N International Meet: Italy blah blah blah"  ?

[Ant]

Done  

[Mr Sunshine]

Danke!

[servicerifle]

I dunno...I am very tempted to just come with you guys.  Seriously.

[notarian]

I wrote the following for a group of friends who wanted to bike the Alps last summer. I did the trip in August 2006. Only the Dolomites were a bit crowded, the Alps themselves were much less so - especially all of the French Alps.

I'd like to post the pictures that go with the report, but have tried on other sites and the file is too large.

Anyway, maybe this will help and keep your interest up (as if you need it!). I own a Multistrada and have seen from the STN thread 'Ride the Dolomites' mirroring this one that the Multi's are available for rent in Milan. Given the choice of any bike to ride the Alps, I would take the Multi. It is probably the most perfect bike for this type of riding and the price for the bike is very good. Personally, I'd opt for arranging my own accommodations. I always have in the past and have always been satisfied, whether booked in advance of just showing up on the day. However, it is preferable to book in advance if based in the Dolomites because of the amount of holiday tourists. Also, the locals are beginning to crack down of bikers - although we add substantially to the economy, they don't like the sound of motorbikes thundering through their mountains and really take offence to speeding in the villages. Slow down when entering and passing through any village, town, city. It's there that the police will nail you.

As stated below, I very much recommend the Hotel Evaldo in Arabba. I have heard and read that La Fontana in Corvara is a little less expensive and a very good option with superb meals.

Also, as written below - I can't recommend highly enough for anyone considering a motorcycle holiday in the Alps to buy John Herman's book about motorbiking the Alps. It is worth its weight in gold.

"Thirty one day holiday, 26 days in the Alps, 6000 miles, 5000 hairpins, countless thousands of sweepers. All weather conditions, -10C to +42C, sunny, showers, hard rain and hail. Crossed over 83 mountain passes in total, some of them 3-4 times – just because they were so good. Good tarmac, bad tarmac, no tarmac. Met a few interesting characters, as one does.

Grindelwald and Interlaken, Andermatt, St. Moritz, Merano, Arabba and the Dolomites, Riva di Garda, Napolean’s Route (starting in Nice winding north to Annecy and Mt. Blanc), all in that order.

Throughout it all, the Ducati Multistrada 1000 ran faultlessly. Not a single moment of hesitation. Only a new rear tyre needed as the Alps eat tyres. However, beware if you do need a Ducati replacement part and it’s August, every Ducati shop in Italy and France close, at some point, during the month of August – often for 3 weeks. Therefore, I assume that all Ducati’s have an electrical management chip that tells the bike when its August and in Italy or France and knows it must not, cannot breakdown.

Riva di Garda was mainly for some well earned R&R, a bit of people watching, ice cream and pastries and some sailing. Arrived about 5:30 pm, checked into the Hotel, quick shower and an hour nap. Woke up with a bit of a sore lower back. After dinner, I could hardly get out up from the table, barely stand or walk without excruciating pain. It could hardly be the riding, after all, I had been riding the mountains 6 – 8 hours / day, every day for 16 days.

Rising the next morning, still in pain and thought, ‘Boy, this is swell. I’m in the middle of an Alpine motorbike holiday, 2,500 miles from home and I’m totally incapacitated’. Truly afraid I would not be able to ride until I healed (at some point I would, wouldn’t I?), I went out and sat on the Duc.

I could hardly believe it. The riding position, being slightly leaned forward at the waist and some weight taken by arms and shoulders on the bars = a completely painless position. Well, there was nothing in it but to go riding and the hell with the very painful ‘rest and relaxation’. Took about 7 days for the back to slowly heal.

Several pics below – saving ‘The Roads’ for last. The Roads, why else does anyone come motorcycling or bicycling to the Alps?

Tremendous respect for bicyclers in this environment. However, it would take decades to cover the ground a motorcycle does and, at 60, I am not one to endure my tongue hanging out for weeks on end.

The Road of Alpine passes. There is only the Road and there something immensely satisfying about crossing an Alp pass. It connects one valley to the next for communication, commerce, and information. Without it, one must travel the length of one valley into the next and up that one to reach the nearest town. A journey of 200 miles, but with the pass road, 20 miles.

So, the roads do something important, are main routes for are for commerce and are not there just for being a road to ‘somewhere’ or ‘anywhere’. But, as such, they are the roads for the finest biking in the world.

The Splugen Pass, to take one Alp pass for instance, is a wild climb from the south. Hairpin after hairpin, climbing a gorge, often with tunnels and turns and hairpins inside the tunnels, where the road cannot be carved on the cliff, bridges are cantilevered out over a 1000 metre drop with hairpins on them – a wild, insane, winding, twisting mountain pass that has buses and trucks taking people and produce from one valley to the next. It’s a crazy thoroughfare, if you wish, but one that connects Switzerland and Italy, people and commerce.

Coming over the Col du I’lseran, you realise without this pass connecting Val d’ Arc and Val d’ Isere is a journey around that would be about 300 miles.

Most of the Alp passes are OLD, the labour and engineering that to build them is incredible and, because of their importance, they are being updated constantly – if not rapidly.

The original St. Goddhard pass is there, a hard cobblestone road for miles, winding up the mountain. Personally, I’ll take the new road rather than muscle the cobblestones, but the ancients didn’t have that option. It remains a significant pass.

The Passo di Stelvio is the hairpin champion of the Alps. Built on an alluvial mountainside, one with constant subsidence, it has about 50 hairpins on each side. It seems that the maintenance of the road is to fill in the subsidence cracks with tar unless one of the rock ‘hold um up ums’ decides to let go. The Stelvio is an exhilarating road and I road it twice in the rain on the way to Merano.  

There’s an outstanding route from St. Moritz to Merano that needs mentioning – the Bernina Pass, Passo di Mortirolo, Passo di Gavia and the Stelvio.

Only the Dolomite passes are young, as a result of World War One. Some of the bloodiest fighting of that War took place in the, now, Italian Dolomite mountains. When the Austrians, or the Italians took a valley by fighting for it, a road had to made to supply the victors. Hence, most of the roads in that part of the Alps were the result of re-supplying troops and keeping territory.

Little did they know, they had built, what may be, the best of the best motorcycling roads imaginable. Spent 2 full days just riding the figure eight (Passo’s Pordio, Gardena, Sella, Valparola, plus Falzarego and Giau) = 1200 hairpins alone. Sound boring? It’s not, trust me! If the road is worth riding, its worth riding it twice – once for the road, once for the scenery. Some roads you never tire of.

Any day in the Alps is weather changeable. It might start sunny and dry, then turn cloudy by 1pm, showers at 2pm, dark skies and hard rain at 3pm in the lower valleys and hailing at the fog top of Passo Pordio at 4pm. A long, hard day’s ride and the last 39 torantes (hairpins) down from the Pordio summit to Arabba and it’s hailing – riding a sea of pelting marbles.

If you plan to ride the Alps, I highly recommend John Hermann’s ‘Motorcycle Journeys Through The Alps’. It’s an amazingly accurate description of rides and roads, geared for North Americans, but applicable to anyone who reads the English language. Hermann’s book, a Kummerly & Fry Alpine Roads map and some common directional sense is about all you need. No GPS, sorry – even the K & F map doesn’t show all the passes, for sure, neither will any GPS.

Besides, if you take a wrong turn, who cares?

Not everyone can get a month to ride about, but we all get a couple of weeks – don’t we? In that space, there’s a lot of riding adventure to be had. Depending on where you start, figure on 2 - 4 days to get there and back. Make a beeline to Andermatt, Switzerland and stay for 4 days. Take 2 days riding to the Dolomites and Arabba, Italy. Make that your base for at least 4 days.

Having a base lets you take the bags off, reset the suspension and play without the hassle of daily loading and unloading. Some of the major Dolomite roads can get very busy, but generally it is before 9am and from 4-6pm. 10 – 3 is just simply ‘Play Time’.

There are plenty of accommodations in Andermatt. A good one is the small, family run Gafthaus Sternen and just over the bridge on the main street. Owned by David Shani and has the best restaurant in town. 35 Euros including breakfast.

In Arabba, check out the 4 star Hotel Evaldo. They have built an underground garage specifically for motorbikes, have a free power washer and a 5 star dinner included in the cost of the room. I’m not one for ‘salad bars’ (if I wanted to fix my own meal, I’d stay home), but Evaldo has one of the best salad selections I’ve ever encountered. It’s 100 euro’s per night (£65) and well worth it. Oh, the chef does eggs any style for breakfast (an Alp rarity).

For North Americanos, the hassle of shipping a bike may be too much. There are plenty of Motorcycle Tour companies for the Alps. One lot of 20 Gringos descended on Arabba for a couple of days. They were on a Beach Bike Tour, complete with 3 suitcases and 200 lbs of luggage each. Beach has a bike leader, but you don’t have to follow him, a mechanic and van for breakdown spares and the tons of luggage the Yanks are fond of bringing. A tour isn’t cheap, but for what you get, it isn’t expensive either. $5,000 = 14 days in the Alps, breakfast and dinner, a wide range of sturdy BMW’s, excellent accommodations, continuous bike maintenance / repair / mechanic – sherpa, guide and bike insurance.

Perils of the Alps? Damn near anything with 4 wheels. Pay attention.

A red and white license plate is a Belgium. ANY red and white plate being driven by a silver haired person is extremely dangerous. Reason? Until about 1983, Belgium did not require a driving test of any kind to secure a driving license. The elderly still do not know why there is a rear view mirror.

Any top down sports car being driven by a man with a young babe passenger is a potential killer.

No Swiss public bus will stop for any obstacle whatsoever, whether it be campervan or crawling infant. Hence, when rounding corners, the bus driver toots his distinctive 4 - note horn.

Most infuriating = the Dutch. NL (Netherlands) on a plate is someone with no mountain driving experience. The highest point in the Netherlands is a building. Hmmmm…

Most careful = the British. The driving position is on the wrong side of the car, which gives them the worst road vision possible.

Most attentive, courteous, watchful, playful and fastest = Motorcyclists. We are the best, not a boast, it’s a fact.

Most vulnerable = Bicyclists."

About 60 pictures rounded of the report. Maybe this site will take a few?

Nope. I didn't think so - couldn't even get one in.

[Orson]

About 60 pictures rounded of the report. Maybe this site will take a few?

Nope. I didn't think so - couldn't even get one in.

try hosting your pictures on photobucket.com  

as far as bicyclist being the most vulnerable...an image that will forever be seared into my memory was the time I was climbing a pass...I forget which one. I was entering a switchback just as a harried-looking old man in a Mercedes sedan was exiting the switchback, going in the opposite direction. Behind him was a large pack of Italian bicyclists in training, hurling insults and casting aspersions on the old man holding them up  

[throttlemeister]

Most infuriating = the Dutch. NL (Netherlands) on a plate is someone with no mountain driving experience. The highest point in the Netherlands is a building. Hmmmm…

I take offense! This should read "Dutch with their trailer caravans and/or Germans with their RV's"

As long as there are dozens of Swiss burning their brakes coming down a mountain, we as flatlanders have nothing to be ashamed off!

So there!

 

[Cpl Punishment]

I take offense! This should read "Dutch with their trailer caravans and/or Germans with their RV's"

As long as there are dozens of Swiss burning their brakes coming down a mountain, we as flatlanders have nothing to be ashamed off!

So there!

 

What about the tulip boom? That was your fault, wasn't it? Sending the eurpoean econmy into a flat spin with your overpriced bulbs...

[Bill@MIssion]

As said in the other thread, avoid may and august. May will have plenty passes still closed due to snow, and august is still holiday season meaning crowded roads and slow traffic.

Half right - speaking for the Pyrenees - most roads will be open in May for certain - my picture was taken in Andorra early April.

In full sunlight it was 16 degrees - snow piled up 2 metres at the side of the rod. Temperature drops like a brick in shadow/at dusk so be warned - Andorra (Pas de Cas) is one of the highest passes we have - so most of the roads will be clear.

[Global Rider]

Most infuriating = the Dutch. NL (Netherlands) on a plate is someone with no mountain driving experience.

There will be notices, either on the map or at the base of a pass "no caravans, buses, etc" and yet you'll find them clogging up the pass roads with their caravans. Don't get me started on the Dutch...very friendly, but not quite all "there". It must be the weed.  

The highest point in the Netherlands is a building. Hmmmm…

Good one!!! 

[Aero]

I wasn't able to attend the 2008 STN International but I'm going to do my best to be there in 2009 - wherever 'there' is!
I'm thinking maybe some people might be interested in combining a European meeting with a Moto GP race. My choice would be either the Italian GP at Mugello on May 31st, the Dutch TT on June 27th, the Czech GP on August 16th, or the San Marino GP on September 13th but I am open to other suggestions. Anyone interested?

[vfr boy]

I've done Assen and Brno and both are great venues with a brilliant atmosphere.

Don't forget the UK!

[Papa Lazarou]

Interested but very broke.

[stefrrr]

You know, if we do this between my courses (June 23 - July 3rd), I might be able to do it. No success so far though with "borrowing" a bike. Although there was that offer, but I'm not sure it would still stand...  

[ninjadad66]

I wrote the following for a group of friends who wanted to bike the Alps last summer. I did the trip in August 2006. Only the Dolomites were a bit crowded, the Alps themselves were much less so - especially all of the French Alps.

I'd like to post the pictures that go with the report, but have tried on other sites and the file is too large.

About 60 pictures rounded of the report. Maybe this site will take a few?

Nope. I didn't think so - couldn't even get one in.

Great write up.  Any luck with the pictures ?

[Gritty_Kitty]

Well I'm going to be there the last 3 weeks of June doing the Alps. This'll be my second time over. I'm taking my wife on the ulimate passes and castles tour of luxembourg, northern France, Switzerland and south western Germany which I've laid out myself. I've got 4 days worth of business I've got to attend to at the LeoVince plant in Italy then I'm back touring.

I've done a lot of research and have a good connection for rental bikes in Frankfurt.

Anyone is welcome to join me for a few legs of my journey and leech off my logistics in exchange for an occasional beer and the promise to pull over if I've got a flat. I'll be renting a K1300GT, my speed is sport not race but certainly not cruise. I intend to use that torque.

Aside from that offer. How would everyone like to converge on Andermatt, June 22,23 and 24th?

[John L]

Bill - I was planning on spending 10 of riding through the Pyraness and the Picos or Pyraness and French Alps. I am really interested in your site b/c I need some good routes and must do roads in the area. Its been 8 yeras since I have been there. Is it to ambitious to cover both the Pyraness and the French Alps in ten days? I did the Picos and the Pyraness before (although I lost all my notes and maps) and it was pretty easy to cover the ground.

If anyone is traveling to Switzerland and Dolomites I will be glad to help with some killer routes. I rented a Tuono in 06 and had an absolute blast. Late June was perfect - 1o days and no rain. Pick up the John Hermann book - its loaded with helpful info.  

Half right - speaking for the Pyrenees - most roads will be open in May for certain - my picture was taken in Andorra early April.

In full sunlight it was 16 degrees - snow piled up 2 metres at the side of the rod. Temperature drops like a brick in shadow/at dusk so be warned - Andorra (Pas de Cas) is one of the highest passes we have - so most of the roads will be clear.

[yotes65]

About 60 pictures rounded of the report. Maybe this site will take a few?

Nope. I didn't think so - couldn't even get one in.

How about posting the link to the "other" forum so we may check out the photo's...